Broadcasting includes the live transmission of audio and/or visual content to a wide audience. Conventional means of broadcasting include terrestrial and satellite transmission of content. More recent means of broadcasting include streamed, podcast, and any other type or kind of internet enabled, or widely accessible, live content. Audience members typically consume broadcast content via conventional means such as radio or television receivers and increasingly via more modern means such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other personal computing devices. In this age of ubiquitous connectivity, audience members typically have access to one or more devices capable of receiving broadcast content at all times. Consequently, there is more broadcast content, and competition for audience engagement, than ever before.
While the nature of broadcasting has changed, broadcasters still seek to monetize their content, typically based on the sale of advertisements that run during a broadcast. Advertisement rates are typically tied to one or more metrics of audience engagement, such as, for example, ratings. Broadcast shows with higher ratings typically command higher advertisement rates. As such, broadcast shows have a vested financial interest in their audience engagement. Conventional metrics of broadcast audience engagement include surveys, ratings, call-in lines, and social media, each of which is substantially limited in scope and typically only appeal to a very small segment of the broadcast audience. Moreover, these conventional metrics of broadcast audience engagement lack immediacy and provide feedback to broadcasters well after a broadcast has already concluded.